Leaders - Jackie & Randy Schoch

Riders:  RLs Jackie & Randy, Gene Villiva,  Maryjane Obichere (guest),  and Diane Harris.  Not pictured - Ron Altemus (photog)

Route - IHRT

Weather - Cloudy, cold, and breezy (40's)

AMS - Varied per/rider.

Mechanicals/Mishaps - None

Report - Every one was on early so we started on time. Not many others on the trail this morning. We did see wildlife consisting of squirrels, birds, about six deer crossing the path in front of us all together, and a pair of wood ducks. There were several walkers, children, and dogs on the trail. We had a slight tail wind pushing us to the White Plains rest stop. We didn't stop for long because of the chill in the air and now we had a head wind to fight against on the way back. All made it back to the parking lot but Diane and Maryjane rode on to get in some more miles. We all went our separate ways after the ride. Next Friday, St. James Church will be having a fish fry so several of us might partake of some fish next week?

Leader: Rita Zeidner with moral and spiritual support provided by Harold Datz

Members:  Anonymous

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38138830

Weather:  Perfect for February - mid-50s

AMS: 13ish mph

Mechanicals/Mishaps: None

Report:  A nice, flattish, quiet ride for a winter day. We switched up the last 10 miles of the route to show Anonymous a pot belly pig farm. That change would bring us back to go a mile short of the promised 43.3 miles. We couldn't have that, so we circled environs to end the ride with 43.97. Some people-- particularly those coming from Alexandria -  worry about (clutch your pearls) possible heavy traffic on I-66. The days of the awful construction projects are over. It was a smooth, fast ride from Falls Church that took us less time to get to Vint Hill than it takes us to get to the normal ride starts. You should try it sometime!

P.S. Vint Hill is a very good place to start. When I lead, I park in the community center parking lot, though for larger groups, you might try a different nearby parking lot. The folks at the community center allow us to use the rest rooms and on occasion, I've even used the shower. There is also good food (and beer) nearby.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Sherwood Byers, Sr., Joan Oppel, Walt Roscello, Janell Saunders, Steve Perakis, Linda Bankerd, Tom Short, Sue Gunter, Pat Walthers.  Not pictured:  Patricia Sanders, Rita Zeidner & Harold Datx



Route:   https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41603248  31.4 mi, 1000' elevation gain.  Chicamuxen, Bicknell and Pisgah Marbury to Poorhouse, Annapolis Woods and Fire Tower for a rest stop at Scott's Store.  Next down MD-6 to Mill Swamp, up Blossom Point to MD-6, Burch and Poorhouse to a second rest stop at Pisgah Park.  Final return on Bicknell, Chicamuxen, Hawthorne and Livingston Rd.  

Weather:   if Friday (1/26) hadn't set records for January high temperatures, we all would have been saying what great weather.  Temp range of 55-58 (w/maybe a bit of 60 in the sun on Fire Tower), mostly sunny giving way to cloudy, and 7ish mph winds out of the northern quadrant.

AMS:   ride leader swept at 11.9; others were much faster

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:  a nice turnout as club members, with an eye on the forecast, realized this would be another good day for bicycling in Southern Maryland.  From the onset, we splintered into any number of groups as all classes of riders were participating.  One rider had time constraints so peeled off before Scott's; two others planned additional miles so weren't present for the group photo (above).  

Traffic for the most part was light though for the sweep group, coming back on Hawthorne,  we had a large number of vehicles pass us after the light had changed on Chicamuxen.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Dan Donahue, Jackie Schoch, Oswald Martin, Gene Villiva, Donaro Gardner



Route:   Friday Fav - Indian Head Rail Trail, Livingston Rd parking lot east to White Plains trailhead for a rest stop and then return

Weather:   Mostly sunny with swaths of clouds occasionally obscuring the sun, winds out of the SW 8-9 mph, and temps starting at 70 rising to mid 70s by ride's end

AMS:   immaterial - varied by rider

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:   Quite the weather for the end of January with highs later in the day reaching a record 80 degrees at National Airport.  It was a great day to be out riding and anyone who wasn't sure missed a fantastic opportunity.  Several in attendance were a tad overdressed, possibly not believing that it would be so warm.  By rides end, most of the other trail users, be they walkers, runners, or cyclists, were clothed in shorts and tee shirts.

For a couple of members, this was their first ride of 2024.  Understandable, given the weather we had prior in the month.  Most everyone rode some additional miles, especially Donaro and Oswald who started/ended at Bensville park and totaled over 40 miles for the day.

Interestingly, turtles were observed basking in the Port Tobacco Creek pond just before White Plains (pictured below on the long logs running horizonally).  Per Smithsonian Magazine, it seems that turtles don't go completely dormant during the winter, but instead continually monitor conditions such that light and warmth produce immediate results, hence they stir and find a convenient perch for basking.   Also of note:  the low water levels in the pond is because the earthen embankment where the pond drains has been breached, probably due to natural conditions, much like a levee failing.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Darrell Meyer, Donaro Gardner, Sherwood Byers, Sr, Jackie Schoch


Route:   Indian Head Rail Trail (IHRT) - Livingston Road parking lot east to White Plains trailhead for a rest stop and then return eastward to the start

Weather:   Sunny and bright to start with temperature about 43 degrees but by the time we reached White Plains, it had become mostly cloudy.  Wind was out of the east initially around 6-7 mph so a head wind outbound, tailwind on the return.  A few of us retraced to Hawthorne and the short ride back east alerted us to the winds increasing to 10 mph.

AMS:   varied significantly by rider

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:   Another fairly pleasant day for mid-January though we encountered only one other cyclist and just a few walkers/runners, most of which were between Middletown and White Plains.

Unlike Thursday's 3NT ride where the trail was covered in small branches, gum balls, pine cones, and other debris, the IHRT was it's usual spotless self.  All of the rain for the past couple of weeks had caused Mattowoman Creek to overflow its banks.  There were stretches alongside of the  trail approaching Bumpy Oak where water was pooling, either from the creek or runoff from the surrounding hills.

We encountered Parks staffer Juliana near MM 4 as she was clearing culverts to make sure the next couple of forecasted storms don't impact the trail with flooding waters.  She had earlier in the day breached the beaver pond west of the parking lot to insure water wouldn't engulf the trail.  Given prior history of such man-made breaches, the beavers will have it repaired quickly though water levels will have dropped to a lower level protecting the trail.

In talking with Juliana, we made sure to extend our appreciations to Charles County Parks, in general, and her in particular, for keeping the trail so nicely maintained.  The refrain on Thursday's 3NT ride had been "we aren't on the IHRT anymore, Toto!"

Leader:  Ron Altemus

Members:  Jackie & Randy Schoch

Route:  From the Northern Senior Center, we took the 3NT north into Charles County and Deborah Lane before turning and riding south to John Baggett Park.  After a short rest stop, we returned on the trail back to our start.

Weather:  A very nice day for the 11th of January featuring cloudless blue skies with plenty of sunshine; temps starting in the low 40s and maybe reaching 50 by ride's end; air movement from the SW quadrant, 5 mph early and closer to 10 mph by the finish.

AMS:   maybe 11ish(?)

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:   We only saw three, maybe four, other bicyclists today, with a fair number of walkers, mostly near the start or Baggett Park.  Perhaps perceived temperatures were too low for many riders or it could be that they knew of the trail conditions.  The Tuesday storm's high winds had littered the trail with countless small branches, gum balls, and other debris.  Unlike Charles County and the Indian Head Rail Trail, St Mary's County does not have designated staff for 3NT trail maintenance.  We spoke with a Parks employee at Baggett Park who said he had alerted higher-ups to the need of having the trail blown off but they are short staffed and said employee is the only one covering most of the parks in that part of the County.  Thus, we spent most of the ride zigging and zagging to avoid the clutter on the trail but it did make for an interesting though slower ride.

Leader: Steve Palincsar

Members: Ron Altemus, Joan Oppel

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45312277  At least, that's what it was meant to be, and I assume it was for Ron and Joan.  Me, I got around 2.5 mi and had a flat.  For the rest of my story, see "Mishaps/Mechanicals". And see below for the Ride Report addendum for the riders who completed the route.

Weather: Sunny, mid-40s -- at least, when it was sunny.  When clouds covered the sun,m as was the case on the way to the ride start, it dropped into the high 30s, with much binging and bonging and flashing of the SNOW ALERT on my dashboard.  The wind wasn't much until it was, but that was when I got back home.

AMS: unknown

Mechanicals/Mishaps: A piece of glass in the front tire, and as we turned onto Bunker Hill the bike didn't feel right.  A tenth later the reason was obvious.  I have tires and rims that in combination are very difficult to mount and dismount.  The temperature today made things worse.  Unbelievably worse.  With me, Ron and Joan working the problem together, it took us about an hour to get the tire off, replace the tube and remount the tire.  Remounting was incredibly hard work, so much so that we resorted to tools other than the Bead Jack to mount the tire.  When we finally got the tire on and started inflating the tube, it wouldn't hold air.

At that point I decided enough was enough,we weren't going through that again even though I had yet another tube.  It was time for Plan B, which consisted of Ron going 2 1/2 miles back to Starbucks and coming back with his van. 

Before I could fully articulate this plan, a Good Samaritan in the form of a woman driving a pickup truck came by.  On the way back to Starbucks, she told me she and all her family live along Berry Rd and Bunker Hill.  I for one am certainly glad of that fact.

Report addendum from the riders who completed the route -  Ron and Joan continued on Bunker Hill Road, and after the frustration of the tire debacle, it was good to be pedaling again. It soon became warm enough for clothing adjustments, with temperatures in the high 40s. We actually had a pleasant ride, even though on some busy roads. Traffic was definitely heavier on this Sunday than during the week. Following Diane's roue, there was a nice stretch of nearly 7 miles on the rail trail, where we took advantage of both a portapotty break and a scenic snack break at the big marsh near Bumpy Oak. The west 14 mph wind hit us on Hawthorne, but Chapman's Landing proved as sheltered as always. We made the decision to alter the return (eliminating the shoulder of 210 for 2+ miles) to  Manokeek by crossing 210 at Bryans Road and taking the back way on the west side of 210: Mathews, Gospel Unionor, Livingston, Pine Lane, Manning, cross 210 at Livingston, take Dusty Lane, cross Berry, to approach Manokeek from the north. That added about 2 miles. We had a good ride, were glad to get out. 

Steve's report from home continued: It was more comfortable and warmer at home, and that might have helped, because it only took me a half hour to remove the tire and replace the tube with a new one.  Patching the tube with the glass puncture wasn't too bad, either: easily found, easily patched.

But things were different when I looked at the tube we installed on the road as such a cost in labor.  The tube wouldn't hold air at all initially.  The more holes I patched, the more holes I found.  In the end, it took six patches for that tube to hold air once more.

Report: I love the idea of piggyback rides.  We had such fun with them back before the Pandemic!  I thought piggybacking with Diane's B ride would be a great place to start doing it again. 

In practice, it didn't quite work out that way.  Ron and Joan were a few seconds behind the B group getting mounted up and moving.  By the time we reached Berry Rd, the B group was out of sight.

It's been some years since I rode east on Berry Rd, and I'd forgotten what the traffic between the shopping center and Bunker Hill Rd was like.  I'd pretty much decided this would be a one-and-done before we made the turn, and then my tire went flat. And now I'm sure.

I hope Ron and Joan had a good ride for the remainder of the route.  Perhaps they can edit this and tell us what adventures befell them after we parted ways.

Leader: Diane Harris 

Members: Theresa R, Sherwood B, Linda B, Alan K

Guests: None

Route: Starbucks Express-Manokeek Village Shopping Center to the Indian Head Rail Trail by way of roads in Waldorf, then back to the start via Chapman's Landing and other roads including short sections of Indian Head Hwy and roads that parallel Indian Head Hwy. 

Weather: Sunny, cool, comfortable for a January Day. By ride start, the roads had dried from the previous day's and night's rain.

AMS: 13.6 (ride leader)

Mechanicals/Mishaps: None

Report: This is the same route as last week's Sunday ride and I enjoyed it, and the company, just as much as I did last week. From the shopping center we take Berry Rd to the turn onto Bunker Hill. This section can have a lot of vehicle traffic but there is a wide shoulder that takes us to our first turn. We use more roads with wide shoulders until we get to Middletown Rd, a 2 lane stretch where (for me) taking the lane is the safest way to get us to the turn onto the Indian Head Rail Trail. It's Winter and the trees are bare which allows you to see clearly what's behind the tree line. After recent heavy rains, I saw how much water there was. A lot!! I'd never seen that much water along the trail. Once off the trail, we had a short climb up Hawthorne to Indian Head Hwy, crossing to take the rollers of Chapman's Landing a prettier option to Indian Head Hwy. The rest of the ride had us alternating stretches of the Hwy with parallel roads until we returned to the shopping center. One of the best parts of this ride was the post ride fellowship with drinks and snacks at the nearby coffee shop. 

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:   Sherwood Byers, Sr., Donaro Gardner, Darrell Meyer, Denny Miller, Gene Villiva

Route:  Indian Head Rail Trail from Livingston Rd parking lot east to White Plains and return

Weather:  sunshine and blue skies with high altitude thin cloud puffs, 4-5 mph SW breezes with temps starting in the upper 30s and maybe reaching 40-41 degrees

AMS:   varied by rider; your faithful correspondent swept in the low 11s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:  start time was changed to 1 pm in hopes of some solar warming, which at least brought the temps into the upper 30s instead of near freezing.  Thankfully, all riders where in full polar bear/freezing saddles cycling attire and coupled with the sunshine, it didn't seem too terribly cold.

Only a few fellow cyclists, some runners, and a couple of young ladies on roller skates to share the trail with during our ride.  Wildlife was evidently hunkered down staying warm as there were no sightings to report. 

Leader - Joan Oppel

Members - Esther Steward, Robin Garnett, Janet Shipko, Patricia Sanders, Catherine Ade, Gene Villiva, Steve Palincsar, Paul Hamilton, Lisa Peterson, Rick Hagen, Norm Lisy, Chris Moriarity, Linda Bankerd, Sherwood Byers,  Ron Altemus, Alan Kurzweil, Carol Torgan

Route - from Washington Sailing Marina, 

Weather - Cloudy, 36 at start with scattered rain drops not amounting to actual rain but reappearing periodically during the ride, 38 at end (temperature readings from my Garmin)

Mechanicals/Mishaps - None

Report - Seventeen of us left the marina in a long line, met another rider at the Jefferson Memorial (who remained with us in DC) and another who joined us for the coffee shop stop. Rain drops visited us periodically during the ride but no actual precipitation.

We visited the Tidal Basin side of the Jefferson Memorial, viewed the Martin Luther King Memorial from inside (without bikes), then the Lincoln and the WWII and on to a warm stop at a coffee shop just outside the White House. By the time we left the coffee shop several riders had left us. Thirteen hardy riders continued on to the end.

Brief stop at the White House, then down 15th St cycle track to the Pennsylvania Ave cycle track-which we didn't need today because Pennsylvania Ave was closed all the way to the Capitol for a fitness walk!

Around the Peace Monument at the Capitol, up the nice long hill on Constitution, waving at the Supreme Court, into the Capitol Plaza from First St, waving to the Library of Congress and then stopping at the Botanical Gardens.

We then returned across the Mall and most of the group chose to do the Hains Point Loop (traditional NY Day gathering of cyclists from all over the DMV). Potomac Pedalers members Catherine Kitchell and Butch Counts had a hot drink and snacks station, including hot chocolate that most of us enjoyed. We were chilled but glad to get out and know that we had ridden all year. 

More pictures: Lisa Peterson (in pink jacket) and Rick Hagen had a 360 degree camera mounted on a 4 foot pole on the back of Lisa's bike, taking pictures as we rode.